Terms and Conditions-Part 8

Thanks for allowing me some personal time off. I have about the next 9 tiers of this sketched out. However much I can get finalized by Friday will determined the length of that comic. Hopefully a bunch. We will see. Two Patreon comics currently being worked on as well.

Also, I got a ton of unexpected promotion from Facebook and Twitter over the weekend, so if you’re new here, WELCOME. Thanks to all for the mass compliments on my art. It means the world to me. ^__^

The phrase ‘early to an update’ implies a first position with out declaration or using the actual word ‘first’. It is an unnecessary layer of subtlety over and above the requirements of the rule set. I move for an originality allowance.

Ratches were before Black Friday, so there was some out there bits before that arc. Also, with Rusche’s degree of foreshadowing, I suspect some of the more out there bits may have been planned all along.

There’s a deeper current here–Mr. Night’s exclamation, “Masquerading as a high school teacher!” implies that the sucker punch is only a secondary reason. Oh, and it does look as if the glasses are about to come off. Also, ‘widowed’. Chekov’s gun, I say. wouldn’t be mentioned arbitrarily.

Yeah, considering Tarra’s presumed obsession with him, I’m wondering if that widowing was before she met him and he was vulnerable or if Tarra was associated with David at the time of his wife’s passing.

It’s hinted that David was Tarra’s tutor (in what?), and that she might have been a bit obsessed with him. We know that she is the jealous type. And, that she’s willing to”take measures” to get what she wants. So, odds are, it was ruled a freak accident.

Given how perfect Tarra is, what he tutored her in is either extremely unimportant (as she was only sandbagging as an excuse to get more time with him) or EXTREMELY important, as it would indicate he’s an extreme badass. Given that an apparently-ragtag group of people with varyingly impressive abilities have taken an actionable interest in him, it’s probably the latter.

It seems, that according to the rules, that this may be the actual first post of the strip. However, until the appropriate archive dive and sub committee review, please accept this purple take out box of chocolates.

(Age/2) + 7 is the standard creepiness rule for dating (reference xkcd.com/314 ). Considering Blind Guy’s stalkerish tendencies, I think we can just go ahead and say “creepy” isn’t a concern of his and deem it as something he’d ignore.

Either are possible, but I’m thinking his eyes will show him to have been part of a similar experiment that led to Tarra’s birthmarks floating past her cheeks and becoming colored in. So I’m thinking more colorful and possibly giving off light.

Possible explanation. However, considering that Mr. Night’s subtitle is “the breathtaker” and things appear to be moving in a less friendly direction, I’m wondering if the backgrounds are indicative of an ability.

I was actually only include characters whose middle names we knew. Granted, for Ellie I’m counting birth name as we don’t know if she chose a middle name and what it might be when she legally changed her name from Lavender Erinn to Ellie.

OH DAM!!!…..is he gonna end up being some white knight for those 2 girls or is he telling em to back off because he wants em for himself lol….I can’t wait to see what this “Lesson” is….and if he takes those shades off and reveals that he either has freaky eyes or some weird eye power….I’m gonna be freaking out and geeking out at the same time lol

Maybe, maybe not. They welcomed David back last comic and we still don’t know who number 1 is. David or some form of Tarra have been my consistent guesses for that spot for a while (though maybe Wandering Girl is a possibility, but we know next to nothing about her).

Additionally, I thought Rusche said that the D52 was kinda’ going to be like a boss run for the end of the comic. The third arc will have I think KK and maybe others as main protagonists, so there’s still room for someone to move from protagonist to antagonist in that conflict. Also we know it’ll be likely at least two years in the future comic time, probably more.

I wonder what the licensing and accreditation standards are for being a professional Old People Puncher. Is that a trade school sort of thing, or an advanced degree sort of thing? What’s the training and/or judging criteria, is it a long checklist or Olympic scorecards? Do they have their own section in the yellow pages in the Shuffle-verse? What other unexpected things are ok with what might be a dodgy consent form in our universe?

It occurs to me that David is technically trespassing in Tired Guy’s apartment. Therefore David’s in something of a lose-lose situation. Either D52 successfully subdues him or he ends up in legal trouble.

Well, if cops can use an open door that opens when a person knocks on it, then it can’t really be tresspassing can it? Besides, his excuse can always be that he wanted to check on the girls but the door was open, which would be unusal.

And he did knock, and the door swung open. It’s practically a non verbal approval to enter.

2) No, a cop does not need a search warrant for anything that the average eyeball can fall upon. I.e., anything in plain sight does not need a search warrant. However, probable cause could possible occlude that. Officer David A. Stevens, please describe to the court what you saw. Of course. I saw with my own two eyes… uhm… where’s my seeing eye dog??”

4)He comes bearing a gift. We have no idea how much of an ability he has to see with his eyeballs. No idea if Mr. Stevens is fully blind, or just legally blind. Or that he’s a guy who likes to walk around wearing sunglasses all day and wear sunglasses at night. Also, we know for a fact that he can’t put two and two together because Ellie and Kyrie don’t have the same face. I mean, Kyrie has no face at all. So, unless he’s actually felt Ellie up to see what she looks like, and his computer has a tactile reference interface, no way for us to assume that he knows that Ellie and Kyrie are the same.

Since we are in the audience, we know the irony and the backstory that is going on that the characters do not. We are speculating on situations that the characters have no idea what is going on. All we can surmise from their situation is that David walked into what he assumed was still the girl’s apartment after the door opened after he knocked. He then found odd things, like what seems to be a rolled up carpet.

Now as far as what he’s doing there? He got stood up on a date, might be feeling a bit insecure, knows where Ellie and Quinn live because of the O’Jacks storys. We know that Ellie might have some feelings about him, and he can infer that because of her statement that someone lost out on feeling her face.

Mr. Stevens, was present in that apartment on good faith because he was hoping to ask Ellie what the hell happened to would make some blind date stand him up. And sob storys always go better with chocolate, and the Chocobieb Shoppe happened to have been in the old Ace True Values building. It’s not like he was going to buy beer for this endeavor, as it would be their first time in the same setting. My client is a gentleman, if he is from North Carolina. (I doubt it, but how much farther North can someone get without crossing the Mason-Dixon line.)

In response to 3) I just can’t see D52 leaving the door that unsecured. I mean they haven’t shown themselves to be especially competent but still. Unless David’s knock is supernatural and just automatically opens any portal it’s applied to.

In ‘Selective Hearing’ I’m inclined to think the ties speech bubble belongs to Ellie since the other one in that panel must belong to David and given that I can’t see not combining them if they’re from the same person.

Also, “Given his super duper hearing abilities,” what? I think you provided an example but never finished the original statement.

In response to 4) I like how your suggested scenario kind of make David even more of a creeper. I feel down because I got stood up. To make myself feel better I’ll go speak to that impressionable young lady who got rather upset after I rejected her the last time we spoke. I’m sure that won’t be emotionally stressful for her or at least if it is it’s not my problem. Also disregard the fact that I’m her sister’s teacher and her other sister and I have a mysterious past together. I should bring chocolates.

I’m saying that in respect to the character, I give him the benefit of the doubt of being able to see. And that he was also looking to get a bit of advice on being stood up and if she wouldn’t mind going out and do mindless stuff up in downtown.

I think for something to be trespassing, you have to have been notified of your unwelcome status (this is what signs posting against concealed carry legally do in Ohio, for example). With the assumed knowledge that someone else is renting the apartment, if the door opened on its own by his knock, I think he’s within legal bounds to enter and look around from either a thought that it’s an intentional invitation by Ellie figuring out it’s him or concern for her safety/well being.

Now, if Tired Guy, instead of provoking a fight, tells David that the girls moved to another apartment in the complex by their own decision and he even provided assistance for their move and that he’s now renting this particular apartment and requests David leave, then he’d be trespassing to not immediately turn around and exit.

I believe the law operates on a standard of “what a reasonable person would do” in that scenario and that’s what a jury would likely be told to use to determine guilt/innocence.

Violent action (which seems reasonably likely) on either party’s part would certainly cloud legality. On the other hand, if no one reports anything to the police and there are no corpses found, then the question of legality is somewhat sidestepped (as it was with the website). I’m not convinced if D52 wants the police, headed by Ellie’s father, looking into anything they’re involved with or not. Considering Herb & Rosemary’s conversation about obsession and “just a tutor” for Tarra, David may not be so keen on pointing out stalking Ellie to Herb. So it’d almost need to be a noise complaint from someone else before the police would likely get involved, and Tired Guy has leased a lot of apartments.

I suppose I can’t help but think a reasonable person wouldn’t enter an area they know they’re not supposed to be in. You could argue that he has just cause, but I’m leaning strongly against that.

I almost want Tired Guy to resolve this situation diplomatically if only because D52’s shown themselves to be somewhat bumbling and they really need a victory to make them look like credible antagonists. Maybe something like, “Neither of us want this escalating to the point where the authorities get involved so hows about you be on your merry way, hmm?”

I think that part of the problem is that the reasonable person expects a door to be shut, unless it is visibly open. However, when the door is visibly or reasonably in the position of being shut, to a point where a blind guy expects to knock on the surface and succeeds, and it opens for a reasonable person who knocks, then the reasonable person can definitely assume that they may enter.

Well, since you’re talking about Blind Guy being the transgressor and we’re in the US, to be guilty must be proven to the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt” so assuming fair legal system, he’d have more leeway from that. Additionally being blind would probably help the case in some ways too, along with adding to jury sympathy.

However, the presumption for an apartment door is that it is latched, so if it opens with a knock and you have a rationale for either expecting the occupant expects you or reason to be concerned about their safety, I think as long as all you do is enter to verify and leave when asked, you’d probably be ok (especially if you’re sympathetic to the jury).

Well, after attempting to peg Mr. D.A. Stevens’ abode as close as possible to the school at the corner of Pablo and Eden, it seems that the above mentioned 144 Hibiscus does have a vacant lot next door as well.

Yes, I did that same search, however, that location of 144 Hibiscus, Lakeland in the trailer park does not have the qualifying back yard.

144 Hibiscus Ave, Lakeland, however, (Or East Hibiscus) doesn’t seem to turn up much of anything either on google maps.

There does not seem to be an exact address. Possibly for the plausible deniability on Rusche’s part. You know, “This story is fictional, any similarity to people, places or things is entirely conincidental. Pay no attention to the person behind that curtain.”

If Ellie and Quinn are indeed the chosen ones. What does that say about Sloth and, and uhm, wait a second. What is Quinn’s problem? Anger? Is Anger a deadly sin, or is it vengeance? I have the DVD, I just don’t feel like cueing it up because I don’t want “Fight Club” to jump in the way.

Picked up this comic from scratch last Monday thinking i’d take my time and read a couple a day to pass the time at work….PLOT TWIST!! I’m now up-to-date! Thanks for creating such an amazing character driven comic i will now glue my finger to the F5 key and await more awesomeness!!